Zuurfontein parkrun volunteers plead for area to be cleaned up

Zuurfontein parkrun volunteers and participants have pled with the City of Ekurhuleni to clean the area to allow runners to continue enjoying their morning running sessions.

The parkrun is situated near Barnard Stadium and runners set off at 08:00 every Saturday morning.

The 5km event can either be run or walked.

Volunteers are followed by a tail walker who encourages everyone to finish the event, regardless of how long it may take.

ALSO READ: CPF and community members clean up streets of Kempton Park

The course follows a route around the sports fields and into the adjacent veld.

“Unfortunately, there is rubbish lying around in one area of the veld and the core volunteer team is hoping that together with the municipality and the community, we can get it cleaned up so that we can appreciate the beauty of our parkrun,” said Cathryn Crole.

Crole said that the purpose of parkrun is to get people in a community off the couch and to exercise together on a Saturday morning. It is open to everyone.

“It is a positive, welcoming and inclusive event that gets everyone in a community together.

“There are people of all ages, shapes and fitness levels. Anyone can join in on a parkrun. People are encouraged to register once to get a personalised barcode.

“As you finish, you have your barcode scanned and you keep track of all your times, events attended and how often you have volunteered. You can challenge yourself to improve your own time.”

According to Crole, the parkrun was started by Paul Sinton-Hewitt in the UK, and he asked legendary Comrades Marathon winner Bruce Fordyce to start parkrun in South Africa.

ALSO READ: Birchleigh residents invited to join community clean up

The first ever parkrun in South Africa was held on November 12, 2011, at Delta Park, Johannesburg.

“At the moment there are 213 different parkruns all over Southern Africa, including two in Namibia and two in Eswatini.

“I have been doing parkrun since March 2013 and have had the opportunity to go to 133 different parkruns all over South Africa and one in Eswatini,” said Crole.

“My family do parkrun too, my sister has done almost 450 parkruns and I have done 386. What I love about parkrun is the community spirit. I have made friends from different areas, cultures and religions, but with parkrun in common, we have become family.

“Parkrun is run by volunteers, so even if you are injured or feel too frail to run, you can join the volunteer team and make a new group of friends.”

Crole said volunteers are needed.

Another runner, Jacky Robus stated that they would like the city to clean up the area.

“It is really a pretty part of the parkrun, but spoilt by all the litter and broken glass.

ALSO READ: Parolees and probationers clean up Thembisa

“This can also be a hazard for runners if someone trips and falls, they can get cuts from the glass or a shard of glass could also go through someone’s shoe,” said Robus.

Comment was requested from the City of Ekurhuleni and will form part of a follow-up report on this matter.

Anyone interested in joining the Zuurfontein parkrun as a runner or volunteer can email zuurfontein@parkrun.com